We wrapped up week two! Several new teams came out for week two of the Central Asia trip. They continued to see God work in amazing ways through this trip and among this unreached people group.
This is a unique trip for our church. The team can engage people from an unreached people group, having conversations and distributing digital Scripture and other resources. Many of the people the team talks with have never heard the true gospel or had access to the Bible.
Given the nature of the trip, we are not able to share pictures or places our team is. However, below are some stories team members shared of how God worked in the second week.
COURAGE TO BELIEVE
“One night, a native-speaking lady had the opportunity to share the gospel with an entire family. Throughout the conversation, she sensed they were excited about what they were hearing. Once they had heard the full gospel and talked through their questions, the family told the native speaker that they really wanted to believe, but they were afraid. The family explained, ‘How can we believe? If we profess faith in Christ, we cannot lie to our government when we are asked. It is not safe for us to say we changed our religion, so we cannot decide to follow Jesus.’ The native speaker’s heart hurt for this family.
Please pray for this family to have faith to believe, and to trust Jesus with their future. Please also pray for our brothers and sisters who partnered with us during these two weeks to be strengthened and encouraged by our Father, even when things don’t turn out the way they would like.”
MARY MAGDALENE
“[Story told by a native speaker]. I was walking down the street and saw a young woman named ‘Maryam’ handing out invitations to a club. I knew her job included prostitution. I felt a nudge to talk with her, inviting her to talk about the gospel, but I kept walking. The next day, I saw ‘Maryam’ again and knew God wanted me to invite her. When I approached her, I told her she should come to the cafe to hear about Jesus, and prayed with her on the street.
Later that day, she did come to the cafe. When we sat down together, I opened the Bible and walked her through the story of Mary Magdalene. When ‘Maryam’ heard about Jesus’ love for Mary Magdalene, despite her background, she began to weep. I shared the gospel with her and she professed faith in Jesus Christ.
The next day, ‘Maryam’ returned to the cafe for discipleship and brought a co-worker with her so he could hear about the love of Jesus as well!”
My soul thirsts for you
“Two young men, ‘Amin’ and ‘Omar,’ came into the cafe on the first night of the trip to hear the gospel. They were both in their early 20s, had many tattoos, and loved rap music. They did not fit a stereotype of someone who would be receptive to the gospel. When ‘Amin’ and ‘Omar’ heard the gospel that first night, they both professed faith in Jesus Christ.
What makes their story unique is that every night for the next 11 days, for six hours a day, they would come to the cafe for discipleship. If native speakers were available, they would sit with them to talk about the Bible and Jesus. If all the native speakers were engaged, they would read their new Bibles for hours. Eventually, the team knew them well enough that they sat with native speakers who were sharing the gospel with unbelievers, and ‘Amin’ and ‘Omar’ soaked it all in.
Halfway through the second week, under the oversight of a mature believer, ‘Amin’ had the privilege of sharing the gospel with someone who had never heard. God used ‘Amin’s’ presentation of the gospel to bring that unbeliever to saving faith. ‘Amin’ was so excited he went out that night and shared the gospel with another man. God used ‘Amin’ and ‘Omar’ to show what it looks like to thirst for God!”
Disciple to Disciple-Maker
“Five years ago, during a similar trip, an older couple professed faith in Jesus Christ when they heard the gospel from a native speaker as part of this project. Since then, they have been discipled in a local church. This year, the couple that was saved in the cafe came back to the cafe to share the gospel with others from their country.
One night they sat with a table that had 11 people total from three families who were friends. After the couple faithfully shared the gospel with them, five of the eleven professed faith in Jesus Christ! One other man was close, but said he needed more time to think about it before he made a decision.
This couple is a beautiful picture of those God saves through his work, turning around and becoming a part of the work themselves so others will be saved. Pray for this native-speaking couple, that God would continue to grow them and that they would be faithful to continue to share the gospel with those who need to hear. Please also pray for this man, and the rest of the families to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.”
